Not the news we wanted........

 U of M, the site of Hayden's appointments. The 1st one was in the Mayo Building, kinda weird, since that is where Jaxon goes for his Dr.'s in Rochester!

These were taken during Hayden's urodynamics test. He did such a great job, and hardly moved a muscle! The urodynamics test was pretty intense, he had to be catheterized in the bladder and bowls, then they filled him with fluids, and watched how his bladder reacted to it, and how he voided. Not very fun, but he was amazing!

 

We stayed in Mpls. that night, because we had appointments in the morning. We went out to eat, walked around the mall for a little bit. And of course, Hayden wanted to go swimming, so we did that too! When we were getting ready for bed, Hayden found "The Book of Mormon", and was intent on reading it. He held onto it all night, it was pretty funny! Here he had on Grandma's glasses too!

 

Here are pics of us at Hayden's appointments on Tuesday. Hayden was being silly!

 f

So here is the scoop on what we found out these last few days.....

The urodynamics test showed not such great news, his bladder isn't able to hold as much as it should, and when it is full, the pressure in his bladder, is really high. For his age, the pressure should be 10 or lower, and he was consistently at 40, with it sometimes going as high as 60. Having pressure like that, will cause kidney damage, and diverticulums (which are little pockets on the bladder, from excess pressure). He also has really poor flow, and voiding issues. This is all a result of damage from his Transverse Myelitis, and we were told to be prepared that this would affect the rest of his life. 

The next day, we met with the same Dr. who did the testing, and a pediatric urologist. They told us that they wanted Hayden to start some medication, that will help his bladder relax and empty. It is a timed released pill, that should really help him be able to void. We also will have to catheterise him at least 2 x's a day, maybe more. So we were asked to stay, so I could learn how to do this for him. I was so nervous, and he was pretty freaked out too! But really it went so well, he did great, and it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be! I also did it last night, and this morning, so I am becoming a natural! We think that he doesn't have total sensation down there, so that makes it a little easier, as well :) She said that it will barely faze him, in a week or so. 

Thank you all for your prayers, they mean so much! Please keep us in your prayers these next few weeks, as we work on this, and try to get him to swallow a big pill! It sounds like we won't have to go back for another 6 months, so that's great!